World ( बिश्व)

Norway killer admits massacre, claims self-defense

A right-wing fanatic admitted Monday to unleashing a bomb-and-shooting massacre that killed 77 people in Norway but pleaded not guilty to criminal charges, saying he was acting in self-defense.

On the first day of his long-awaited trial, Anders Behring Breivik defiantly rejected the authority of the court as it sought to assign responsibility for the July 22 attacks that shocked Norway and jolted the image of terrorism in Europe.

Dressed in a dark suit and sporting a thin beard, Breivik smiled as a guard removed his handcuffs in the crowded court room. The 33-year-old then flashed a closed-fist salute, before shaking hands with prosecutors and court officials.

"I don't recognize Norwegian courts because you get your mandate from the Norwegian political parties who support multiculturalism," Breivik said in his first comments to the court.

Eight people were killed in Breivik's bombing of Oslo's government district and 69 others were slain in his shooting massacre at the left-leaning Labor Party's youth camp on Utoya island outside the capital.

"I admit to the acts, but not criminal guilt," he told the court, insisting he had acted in self-defense.

He remained stone-faced and motionless as prosecutors read the indictment on terror and murder charges, with descriptions of how each victim died, and when they explained how he prepared for the attacks.

But he suddenly became emotional when prosecutors showed an anti-Muslim video that he had posted on YouTube before the killing spree, wiping away tears with trembling hands.

Breivik also said he doesn't recognize the authority of Judge Wenche Elisabeth Arntzen, because he said she is friends with the sister of former Norwegian Prime Minister and Labor Party leader Gro Harlem Brundtland.

The anti-Muslim militant described himself as a writer, currently working from prison, when asked by the judge for his employment status.

Breivik has said the attacks were necessary to protect Norway from being taken over by Muslims. He claims he targeted the government headquarters in Oslo and the youth camp to strike against the left-leaning political forces he blames for allowing immigration in Norway.

While Norway has a principle of preventive self-defense in its law, that doesn't apply to Breivik's case, said Jarl Borgvin Doerre, a legal expert who has written a book on the concept.

"It is obvious that it has nothing to do with preventive self-defense," Doerre told The Associated Press.

The key issue to be resolved during the 10-week trial is the state of Breivik's mental health, which will decide whether he is sent to prison or into psychiatric care.

If deemed mentally competent, he would face a maximum prison sentence of 21 years or an alternate custody arrangement under which the sentence is prolonged for as long as an inmate is deemed a danger to society.

Police sealed off the streets around the Oslo court building, where journalists, survivors and relatives of victims watched the proceedings in a 200-seat courtroom built specifically for the trial.

Thick glass partitions were put up to separate the defendant from victims and their families, many of whom are worried that Breivik will use the trial to promote his extremist political ideology. In a manifesto he published online before the attacks, Breivik wrote that "patriotic resistance fighters" should use trials "as a platform to further our cause."

Norway's NRK television will broadcast parts of the trial, but it is not allowed to show Breivik's testimony.

He had told investigators he is a resistance fighter in a far-right militant group modeled after the Knights Templar — a Western Christian order that fought during the crusades — but police have found no trace of any organization and say he acted alone.

"In our opinion, such a network does not exist," Prosecutor Svein Holden told the court.

Anxious to prove he is not insane, he has called right-wing extremists and radical Islamists to testify during the trial, to show that there are others who share his view of clashing civilizations.

Breivik surrendered to police 1 hour and 20 minutes after he arrived on Utoya. The police response was slowed by a series of mishaps, including the lack of an operating police helicopter and the breakdown of an overloaded boat carrying a commando team to the island. (Source: ekantipur.com/en)

Australia hit by biggest quake in 15 years

March 24

Australia has been hit by its biggest earthquake in 15 years, seismologists said, rattling a remote part of the desert with local Aboriginals reporting strong shaking but no major damage.

The 6.1-magnitude earthquake had its epicentre near Ernabella, in the middle of Australia, at a shallow depth of three kilometres (1.8 miles), Geoscience Australia said on Saturday.

Ernabella is an indigenous arts hub home to about 500 Aboriginal people, some 317 kilometres southwest of the popular Alice Springs.

Seismologist David Jepsen said: "An event like this, there are a number of Aboriginal communities around there and they have experienced strong shaking.

"We've heard from them, people have felt strong shaking, but we haven't heard of any damage yet, but there is that possibility."

It was Australia's biggest quake since a 6.3-magnitude one was recorded in West Australia in 1997.

Resident Ria Nicholls told ABC radio houses shook and windows rattled for about 30 seconds with elderly people on her street terrified by late Friday's quake.

"My husband and I just reassured them that it would be fine and it would pass, but they were frightened," she said.

Android app developers criticise Google for late payment

BBC 

March 16

Europe-based software writers have posted hundreds of comments on the company's forums, saying their February fees had not been received on 7 March as scheduled.

Coders receive a 70% share of sales of their app on the Google Play store.

Six days after the first complaint, a Google employee wrote that: "We're actively investigating this."

"We apologise for this inconvenience. At this time, no action is needed on your part," the developer relations manager added.

She did not say whether the problem originated with Google or one of its payment processing partners.

'Hard to contact'

Some users in France, Sweden and the Netherlands reported that their banks had received the money by midday on Friday. However, others in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Germany said that they had still to receive funds.

Many complained about the difficulty in contacting Google for more information.

"They seem to think no direct contact is a good thing??? Crazy situation but that's how these big corps work and until it hurts their bottom line nothing will change," wrote one developer nicknamed UKAPPS on the Google page named Checkout Merchant forum.

The forum members became particularly annoyed after the firm provided an update last night on its developer console - the page programmers log into to track their sales.

"We are aware of reports from some European developers that they are yet to receive their March 2012 payout for February 2012 sales," it said.

An attached hyperlink promising "learn more" led to a page which said: "We're sorry but the information that you requested cannot be found."

One forum member, nicknamed Red_Rage wrote: "Their response to what is a make-or-break issue for some developers is so amateur. A broken link in the console link after all this whining? Really Google? Really?"

Automated systems

The BBC spoke to one developer who is owed thousands of pounds, but asked not to be identified in case it jeopardised his livelihood.

He noted that he had been previously been able to contact a staff member at Apple when there had been an issue with one of his apps on the firm's iOS platform - but said in this instance it had proved impossible to reach a Google representative.

"If you traverse through the 'contact us' pages of the site, you'll eventually get to a form, but it's pre-populated with generic a/b/c choices, and there is no space to write a custom note," he said.

"Google need to realise that investment in actual human support staff is essential; there are limits to the ways in which a system can be automated - however financially attractive that option may be."

A spokesman for Google said he was unable to provide a statement about staffing

Ton up: Tendulkar reaches 100th international hundred

(CNN)

March 16, 

(Sachin Tendulkur hits his 100th hundred)

He's known as "The Little Master" and now Sachin Tendulkar can lay claim to being the only man in cricket history to reach 100 international centuries.The Indian batsman, who is the highest Test run scorer of all time, achieved the unprecedented feat during a one-day international against Bangladesh on Friday -- having been stuck on 99 hundreds for 33 innings.Tendulkar, who is revered in his home country and regarded as one of the finest batsmen ever to play the sport, looked to the heavens and kissed the Indian badge as he reached the landmark figure.

His 100th century was his 49th in one-day matches, to add to his 51 Test hundreds. It was also his first one-day century against minnows Bangladesh. He was eventually dismissed for 114.Tendulkar recorded his 99th international hundred over a year ago as part of India's successful World Cup campaign on home soil.But since then he has failed to bring up three figures on India's tours of England and Australia as well as the home series against the West Indies -- twice being dismissed in the 90s.The closest player to Tendulkar in terms of hundreds is former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who has 71 centuries. South Africa's Jacques Kallis is third on the all-time list with 59.

Skydiver Felix Baumgartner on track for super jump

(BBC) 

March 16, 

On Thursday, the adventurer leapt from a balloon-borne capsule 71,500ft (22km) above New Mexico, landing safely eight minutes later.

The dive was intended to test all his equipment before he tries to free-fall from 120,000ft later this year.

In doing so, he would better the mark of 102,800ft set by US Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger in 1960.

Even just Thursday's jump puts Baumgartner in a select group as only Kittinger and Russian Eugene Andreev have descended from higher.

Baumgartner, who is famous for stunts such as jumping off the Petronas Towers, is seen in the special pressure suit he must wear to stay alive in the thin air and extreme cold of the stratosphere.

His Red Bull Stratos team estimates he reached 364mph (586km/h) during the descent, and was in free fall for three minutes and 43 seconds before opening his parachute. From capsule to ground, the entire jump lasted eight minutes and eight seconds.

The 42-year-old was quoted afterwards as saying that the cold was hard to handle.

"I could hardly move my hands. We're going to have to do some work on that aspect," he said.

The Austrian also said the extraordinary dimensions of the high atmosphere took some getting used to: "I wanted to open the parachute after descending for a while but I noticed that I was still at an altitude of 50,000ft."

Biggest Solar Storm in Years Is Bombarding Earth Now

(ekantipur)

March 16, 

The biggest solar storm in five years is battering our planet right now, and may cause disruptions to satellites, power grids and communications networks over the next 24 hours, space weather experts say.

Two strong solar flares erupted from the surface of the sun late Tuesday (March 6), blasting a wave of plasma and charged particles toward Earth. After speeding through space at 4 million mph, this eruption of material — called a coronal mass ejection (CME) — should be hitting Earth now.

The storm is expected to create strong disruptions due to an odd combination of intense magnetic, radio and radiation emissions, making it the strongest overall solar storm since December 2006, even though the flare that triggered it was not the largest, space weather officials said.

The CME reached Earth this morning at about 5:45 a.m. EST (1045 GMT), according to officials at the Space Weather Prediction Center, which is jointly managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service. While the CME did not hit Earth head-on, the material delivered a glancing blow to the planet, and energetic particles will continue to interact with Earth's magnetic field over the course of the day.

The CME will likely trigger geomagnetic and solar radiation storms today, which could interfere with satellites in space and power grids on the ground, said Joseph Kunches, a space weather scientist at NOAA. Aircraft that fly over the Earth's polar caps may potentially experience communications issues as well, and some commercial airliners have already taken precautionary steps, Kunches said.

"There is the potential for induced currents in power grids," Kunches told reporters Wednesday. "Power grid operators have all been alerted. It could start to cause some unwanted induced currents."

The effects of this solar storm will likely last for 24 hours, and may possibly linger into Friday (March 9), Kunches said.

"Such a CME could result in a severe geomagnetic storm, causing aurora at low latitudes, with possible disruption to high frequency radio communication, global positioning systems (GPS), and power grids," NASA scientists said in a statement.

Experts also predict that the magnetic storm will likely enhance normal aurora displays (also known as the northern and southern lights). As the effects of the CME bombard Earth, these stunning light shows will be especially visible for people where it is currently night, though the full moon of March, which also occurs Thursday, may interfere with the display.

"Skywatchers at all latitudes should be alert for auroras," astronomer Tony Phillips wrote on his website Spaceweather.com, which regularly monitors space weather events.

Many homes damaged as tornado rips through Mich. 

(AP)

DEXTER March 16, 

 MAR 16 - A tornado ripped through a rural southeastern Michigan community Thursday, damaging or demolishing many homes, downing trees and power lines, sparking fires and flooding neighborhood roads.

The slow-moving storm was part of a system packing large hail, heavy rain and high winds. The touchdown was reported in theDexter and Pinckney areas northwest of Ann Arbor, said Marc Breckenridge, director of Emergency Management for the county.

Crews were assessing damage, but in one neighborhood, a home appeared to be flattened while an adjacent home lost most of its roof and second floor. Houses across the street also sustained damage to their roofs and siding. There were no reports of injuries or fatalities, Breckenridge's office said.

About two dozen homes in Sharon Carty's Huron Farms neighborhood "are pretty much unlivable," she said. "And a significant number more than that are severely damaged. One house, the whole front of the house is gone. Folks whose houses were hit are pretty stunned. We don't get too many tornados around here."

She saw no evidence of any injuries.

Carty, 38, said she and her family heard the first weather siren about 5:15 p.m. and were in their basement when the tornado struck. Their house was untouched.

Jack Davidson, 63, said he was watching TV when he heard warning sirens go off twice near his home in Dexter, sending him and his to the basement.

When they emerged, Davidson said the couple at first didn't see much damage and thought the storm had spared the area. But one look across the street revealed a different reality: a flattened self-serve carwash was among the damaged structures.

"It's bad," Davidson said. "The pizza shop's bad. But the worst damage is to the carwash."

Two blocks away, the twister never touched down.

"I guess we were just lucky we were in the right spot," Davidson said.

Destruction was a common sight in the village's business district.

A sign that declares Dexter a "Tree City USA" community was bent and affixed to a telephone pole. Nearby, trees lay on the ground, rendering surrounding roads closed or impassable.

There also were unconfirmed reports of tornados touching down in Monroe County's Ida Township and northwest Lapeer County, near Columbiaville, where trees and power lines had been downed, National Weather Service meteorologist Amos Dodson said. The storm packed wind gusts up to 70 mph in Lapeer County and 2-inch hail, he said.

"We're getting absolutely hammered," Fire Capt. Jim Hemwall of Monroe County's Frenchtown Township said Thursday night. "We have funnel clouds spotted all around us."

Hemwall said a house in the town of Exeter was struck by lightning and debris swirled around another in Monroe County's Dundee.

No injuries were immediately reported, "but it's early," Hemwall said.

All roads into the village of Dexter were closed as darkness fell, with police diverting traffic. Area police and fire agencies were going door-to-door searching for any injured, Washtenaw County sheriff's spokesman Derrick Jackson said. People needing shelter for the night were directed to a local school.

Bill Marx, head baker at Dexter Bakery, said he was closing up shop when he noticed the change in the weather and heard storm sirens.

"I stepped outside and saw the clouds turning around," Marx said. "It was coming toward us. After it went by, it really started raining and hailing."

Eastern Michigan University in nearby Ypsilanti also was buckling down for the storm.

"We put out an all-campus notice to students to take cover, and a tornado warning is in effect," school spokesman Walter Kraft said.

The notices were sent out via text messages and emails, Kraft said.

University of Michigan Health System spokeswoman Kara Gavin said patients were moved into hallways and window blinds have been closed in rooms. Some critically ill patients were moved away from the windows and would be moved farther if necessary.

Gavin said there have no reports of damage in or around the Ann Arbor hospitals.

The American Red Cross of Washtenaw and Lenawee counties expected to open a shelter at Mill Creek Middle School in Dexter and provide shelter, food, water, other basic needs and mental health services, spokeswoman Jenni Hawes said.

"I'm sure a lot of people are pretty distraught," she said. "If you know people affected, encourage them to the shelter and get assistance."

Hawes said a second shelter opened nearby in Ann Arbor, where significant flooding forced the evacuation of an apartment complex.

Hawes said anyone wanting to donate can contribute through the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by calling